There are 23 different tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Throughout the 36 race season, most fans watch all the races at the different tracks on their televisions. Always dreaming of going to the track and seeing the monstrous venue for themselves. Certain tracks have uniqueness to them that makes you want to just go run around and take in the sights that track beholds. For me, that track has always been the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Ever since I began watching NASCAR in 2005, Charlotte (Then called Lowes) Motor Speedway had some awesome shows. The 2005 All-Star Race likely made me a lifetime fan of the sport after I was leaning that way in the races prior. That race had fights, action, and a deserving winner. What’s better than that? Very little and it was unique to the track so it made that venue always come up as one of my favorites.
While I was in Charlotte, I knew I had to make a stop at the speedway. I had gone the year prior, but I just needed to go again, because it is indeed that amazing. The best way to get a look at the whole motorsports complex is by taking a tour. The tour takes you everywhere including inside and on the track, and all around it. All while checking out the neatest views the speedway has to offer.
While I was at the track, I couldn’t think of half the amazing things I was experiencing. I was wide-eyed throughout the tour, soaking it all in. What I didn’t realize was all the tradition and history that I was seeing first-hand. The track has had its fair share of magical moments, from One Hot Night in 1992 to the infamous cable incident during this year’s Coca Cola 600. All that has happened there has shaped it into truly one of the best.
Tradition runs deep at the track. The Coca Cola 600 is one of the longest running events in NASCAR. Year after year, fans pour into the speedway for arguably one of the richest (history-wise) races on the circuit. It’s grueling, tough, and difficult to be successful in the race. Those are the elements that drive fans in year after year. That’s how the tradition lives on and it’s likely how it will never die out.
A nickname of the track is “The Beast of the Southeast” and I can attest that it in fact is a beast. Everything’s huge and it takes a visit to the facility to actually realize it. Though the track looks much different than it did forty plus years ago, the history is still there. The pass in the grass, One Hot Night, and all the exciting races are prime examples of the past times that have shaped the speedway and made it a very historical one.
Being in the heart of NASCAR country, this track won’t be going anywhere anytime soon and that means that many magical moments are still to come. A facility that has it all is the Charlotte Motor Speedway and it’s truly one of a kind. Race weekend or not, the place still has a racing feeling and getting to check it all out was one of the best experiences I’ll ever have.
